Key Information
TON 618
| Type | Quasar and Lyman-alpha blob |
| Diameter | 2,600 AU |
| Distance- | 18.2 Gly (co-moving distance) |
| Mass | 66 billion M⊙ |
| Date of Discovery | 1957 |
Learning Point
- As one of the most massive quasars known, TON 618 is billions of light years away from us, giving us an insight into what early galaxies were like, as well as showing the huge power supermassive black holes can create.
Project
- Draw a picture of TON 618 inside the nebula.
- Overview
- Quasar
- Lyman-alpha Blob
Location
| Located in | Canes Venatici |
Fun Facts
- It has a mass of over 66 billion times the mass of the Sun.
- The galaxy is visibly 10.8 billion light years from us, but if we factor in the amount we and it have moved since then, it would be about 18.2 billion light years today.
- A quasar is a very active galaxy, with the supermassive blackhole at the centre creating a vast amount of energy and light.
- The light TON 618 creates is 140 trillion times brighter than our Sun, one of the brightest objects we know about.
- TON 618 is also a Lyman-alpha blob, which is galaxy that has a large amount of gas around it that is activated by the effects of the supermassive blackhole of the galaxy.
Past Lessons
| 161 | January 9, 2024 | (North America) |